TOKYO, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A record number of tourists flocked to Japan last year, the transport ministry said Tuesday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on. The country logged 42.7 million tourist arrivals in 2025, topping 2024's record of nearly 37 million. But the number of tourists from China last month dropped about 45 percent from a year earlier to around 330,000. China has been the biggest source of tourists to the Japanese archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 -- a quarter of all foreign tourists, according to official figures. However, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said it was a "significant achievement" that overall visitors numbers had topped 40 million people for the first time.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 20, 2026 09:13 UTC